Vicksburg area garden group gets assurances they can use village land this year

VICKSBURG, MI – If winter ever ends and spring returns, members of the South County Community Network will be able to get their hands dirty again this year.

The Heritage Garden at the Vicksburg Historic Village is one of two grown by the South County Community Network.Tom Haroldson/Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette

Fearing the loss of two of their community gardens that produce a cornucopia of fresh vegetables and flowers, the South County gardeners learned Monday that their plots can thicken this growing season.

Nancy Wolf, a member of the South County Community Network and co-manager of the Vicksburg Farmers Market, told the Vicksburg Village Council that there are rumors both the Leja House garden on VW Avenue and the Heritage Garden at the Vicksburg Historic Village might be lost to the 20-member group.

“We have some concerns about the sale of properties and whether we can continue at the two locations,” Wolf said. “We would like some kind of confirmation from the council to go ahead and plant this year and that the property will be available to us this year.”

The group got that confirmation. Ken Schippers, acting Vicksburg village manager, said there are no plans to sell the Leja House and that despite the construction of the new pavilion at the Historic Village nothing has changed with the garden there.

“We have no plans of selling out the (Leja) house underneath you this year, but we do have concerns about the safety of the barn there and the people inside,” Schippers said, referring to the old barn at the Leja House that is in disrepair. “You’re good for another year.”

The South County Community Network, in its third year, has successful grown produce in the two community gardens. The food for the most part is sold at the farmers market or donated to South County Community Services for those in need.

Some proceeds from sales, Wolf said, have also been used to put in irrigation systems at both gardens.

“We have quite a bit invested in these gardens,” Wolf said. “We just want some assurances we can go ahead and use them”

In other action Monday, the Vicksburg Village Council learned that the low bidder for the V Avenue sewer main and lift station improvements was Balkema Excavating at just over $172,000 total. The council did not approve the bid but indicated it would in the coming weeks. No work can be done until the ground thaws. Some area residents have complained about sewer backups in that area, a problem the village crews have been able to fix by routing out a massive root ball. The sewer line, though, remains too small to serve hundreds of homes on the village’s north side.

The council also gave permission for the South County Crop Walk April 27; the Bubs 73 Foundation benefit motorcycle run May 10; the 27th annual Vicksburg Hearty Hustle May 10; the Victorian Garden Club to use the new pavilion March 24; and the combined Taste of Vicksburg and Art Hop June 28.

In addition, the council adopted a new audio postings policy in which the public will be notified in advance if public meetings are audio taped. The policy does not yet determine what will happen with the audio tapes, but Village Clerk Tracy Locey said she will be the person responsible for the postings, reviewing the tapes and determining if they will be posted on the village Web site or used for some other purpose.